Plumbing Maintenance Checklist -- Preventing Plumbing Problems

Posted 4 years ago

While routine plumbing and heating maintenance won't prevent every problem, it does help homeowners to locate issues that could cause difficulties in the future. You can't just expect your home's plumbing and central heating system to operate flawlessly all the time without regular maintenance checks. Below, you'll find some checks that you can do to see if there is something that needs to be addressed with an appointment with a local plumber.
There are so many different aspects of a home's plumbing, including sinks, toilets, drains, washers, dishwashers, central heating systems, boilers, and radiators. It's a long list and one problem can quickly become a huge, expensive mess. You'll need to consider all the areas of your home that a local plumber would deal with if they were called out.
Leaks are one of the easier problems to deal with, but can also cause thousands of dollars in water damage. Examine the floors, walls, and ceilings where you know there are water pipes. Watermarks can be quite easy to spot, but if it is found in a wall or a ceiling, the leak could have been present for some time.
Corrosion on pipes can end up causing leaks, so look for green stains around copper and brass fittings and orange or yellow stains on older steel pipes. These pipes need to be replaced before they burst. The shutoff valves are often where a lot of corrosion occurs, so check this area carefully.
Check to see how quickly each drain in your home drains. That means every sink, tub, and shower. There should be a full swirl of water when draining. If there are bubbles when draining a sink or tub, there is likely to be a blockage building.
For the toilets, look for any signs of leaks. Check the toilet tank by putting a few drops of food coloring in the tank. If you can see the coloring in the bowl without flushing, then you need to call a local plumber to replace your tank. You should also see if the toilet moves back and forth. If so, contact a plumber to correct the problem as it could end up leading to leaks underneath the floor.
Central heating systems and boiler maintenance checks should be left to the professionals. Most plumbing companies will tell you to schedule an appointment when the weather is warm, as you will get faster service this way. These types of appointments can prevent many of the problems people encounter when turning their heating system on for the first time in the cold season.
Sometimes simple repair steps will not solve a plumbing problem, and this is when you will need to call Local Plumbers Cardiff service in to get to the bottom of things. Professional and experienced, Local Plumber Cardiff can get to the bottom of your plumbing problems.